The Business

The Business: Tuesday March 18 2014

Company news, markets and financial talking points, available from 8am Monday to Friday

GLOBAL WARMING ‘TO WIPE OUT TRILLIONS’

Climate change will wipe trillions of dollars off the global economy, warns a UN IPCC report. A global mean temperature increase of 2.5C above pre-industrial levels could prompt global aggregate economic losses of between 0.2 and 2.0%, the report states. Global GDP was $71.8trn (£43.1trn) in 2012, meaning a 2% reduction would wipe $1.4trn off the world’s economic output that year. The report will be officially released at the end of March.

BITCOIN ‘FOUNDER’ DENIES REPORT

A Japanese-American man identified by Newsweek magazine as the founder of Bitcoin has hired a lawyer after suffering “intense confusion and stress”, says The Times. Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto, 64, said: “I did not create, invent or otherwise work on Bitcoin. I unconditionally deny the Newsweek report.” The magazine says his real name is Satoshi Nakamoto, the moniker of the person who wrote the original document describing Bitcoin.

BREAKFAST PRICES TO SOAR

Tuck into your breakfast quickly this morning because the price of the meal is set to soar as drought, disease and rising demand have combined to push the prices of eight key commodities up, reports the Financial Times. The price of coffee has leapt by 70% because of dry weather in Brazil, while an epidemic striking pigs in America has put 40% on pork costs. “Everything we have for breakfast is up,” said Abdolreza Abbassian at the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation.

PUNDITS FORECAST ‘GENTLE’ BUDGET

Experts are predicting a ‘gentle’ Budget from George Osborne tomorrow, reports the BBC. It is expected that the chancellor will save any grand announcements for next year’s Budget, which is scheduled to take place shortly before the general election. "We are going to see a number of big promises thrown forward to 2015 - but no grand gestures," says George Bull, a senior tax partner at accountants Baker Tilly.

QUOTE OF THE DAY… BRANSON WILL SEE YOU NOW

“The Innovation Award is about propelling the next great British tech business forward so we’re looking for disruptive businesses who could one day give Silicon Valley a run for their money.” Sir Richard Branson, announcing your chance to pitch your idea to him.

JUST EAT POISED FOR £100M FLOAT

The online takeaway retailer Just Eat is set for a £100m float on the London Stock Exchange, says the BBC. The firm plans to use the cash to boost growth, expand into new countries and acquire complementary businesses. Just Eat charges commission to restaurants on the value of orders placed through its website. It currently operates in 13 countries, with the UK one of its largest markets. Total revenues for 2013 were £96.8m, representing growth of 61.9%.

THE NUMBERS... AT 0700 GMT

FTSE-100: up +0.62 to 6568.35
Dow Jones: up +1.13 to 16247.22
Dax: up +1.37 to 9180.89
Cac-40: up +1.32 to 4271.96
Nikkei: up +0.94 to 14411.27
Hang Seng: up +0.35 to 21548.16
US dollar: buys €0.71780 and £0.60080
Sterling: buys $1.66460 and €1.9480
Oil: $106.34 down -1.7